


It Don't Take a Word

by S_Snowflake



Category: Little Shop of Horrors - Menken/Ashman
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Little Mermaid Elements, Musical References, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-05-14
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:20:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24175753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/S_Snowflake/pseuds/S_Snowflake
Summary: In which Seymour Krelborn questions whether he's insane or the doo-wop trio from down the street is actually warping reality into another musical altogether. AU/AT that's pure pointless fluff, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Rated G, because I think you kids know that these characters already swear and Audrey's got some domestic issues.REVISED from fanfiction.net.
Relationships: Audrey Fulquard/Seymour Krelborn
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	It Don't Take a Word

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Kiss the Girl](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/619723) by me. 



> Hi, everybody. I thought that this story would be a piece of cake to revise as the start of actually cleaning up my old writing, but I underestimated how much work I'd put into it. It's still a little clunky -mostly because you can tell where I had to change from third-person omniscient to third person limited and I'm a stickler for that kind of thing- but I think it came out cute. Lots of music and sound references that I hope you'll be able to "hear" along with the story if I've done my job right.
> 
> I want to thank very-not-inanimate on Fanfiction.net for faving me as an author and influencing how I would write Audrey's notes from a story of theirs (yes, the lack of punctuation was intentional). As with the original draft, thanks to Alan Menken and Howard Ashman for writing the music of my childhood and inspiring my work as an adult -I don't own any of their works. Lastly, thanks to all my fellow plant feeders and I hope you like!
> 
> \- S.S.

_Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock…_  


The clock was a dull rhythm in the mostly silent flower shop, and the symphony of the slums outside its walls wasn’t much better music. The shop’s owner, Mr. Mushnik, was happy to at least have some quiet while business was running predictably slow, but his two employees were less thrilled about it. Audrey was usually the shop’s personal soundtrack. She was not only the most talkative of the florists, but she enjoyed singing to pass the time when she was in a good mood as well. Unfortunately, she had come down with a nasty case of laryngitis over the past week, and her voice came out as nothing more than a croak when she tried to speak. It physically hurt her coworker Seymour to hear her that way.  


With no sign of the white roses that were supposed to have been delivered the day prior for the only order the shop had or any supplies to rearrange, Seymour’s attention turned to his empty stomach. Was it lunchtime yet?  


_Tick tock. Tick tock..._ Seymour remembered that the clock was more than just a drum.  


_Eleven forty-three,_ it read. Close enough to lunch.  


“I’m goin’ to Shmendrick’s, sir.” There was a pause as Seymour looked toward his boss’ desk for a response behind the newspaper he kept propped up during down times like this. “Sir?”  


Mr. Mushnik grunted then slowly folded his newspaper to look at the clock with glazed eyes. Seymour wondered whether his boss had been asleep or if he was just very good at tuning his voice out after all the years they’d known each other. Mushnik cleared his throat and returned to reading the paper that he’d probably finished already. “Make sure you get back here quick. I’m hungry too.”  


“Sir, couldn’t we just have a staff lunch break?”  


Audrey perked her head up from her spot at the counter where she’d been flipping through a Better Homes and Gardens magazine. Seymour could tell that she was for the idea.  


Mr. Mushnik sighed and shook his head. “Sure, Krelborn. Closing the store and cutting my already abysmal business prospects for an hour would be a great idea. Besides, I never get tired of being in this place…”  


Oh how Seymour wished he could comment something smart as his boss rambled on. After all, he _lived_ in the shop Mushnik was so tired of and had most of his lifetime’s worth of knowledge about how business might be run, but he wanted to keep his pathetic basement room and so he held his tongue. He spotted Audrey shaking her head at their boss and that at least made him chuckle.  


Quickly she covered her lips with a finger as she looked in Seymour’s direction.  


“Not a single word,” Seymour whispered in reply, and got lost in her smile for a bit.  


_“Weren’t you leaving?”_ Mushnik barked, making Seymour practically leap out the door. Well, at least he wasn’t bored anymore.  


Seymour walked to the corner store quicker than he usually would. As bored as he’d been in the shop, getting back to it would be better than making his boss any angrier. He began the walk back with only a bag of chips in hand, taking in the sounds of Skid Row before they would go to waste: a train rumbled and creaked to life in the decrepit station, shoes of passerby shuffled and clicked against a freshly thawed sidewalk, car horns and wheels whistled somewhere in the distance, three female giggles were coming from the alley that he was about to pass by on his right.  


Oh damn it. Seymour hoped that he’d be able to avoid the three street urchin girls that day. It was bad enough that they always liked to hang around the flower shop’s stoop and scare away customers (at least according to his boss), but they tended to show up out of the corner of his sight whenever he’d get the chance to leave the store, too. There was something about their demeanor that bothered him, but he couldn’t put a finger on what it was. It was almost a condescending attitude, as though they knew something important that he was just too stupid to understand.  


“Heeey Seymour,” one of them called out. He couldn’t remember their names.  


It was tempting not to respond but he had no reason to be impolite -at least not yet. He turned to face the trio of girls, who were standing so composed in an unfittingly filthy alleyway. “Hi, girls.”  


“Hm, Crystal, looks like someone’s tryin’ to avoid us,” said the one who’d addressed him initially to her friend –the tallest of the three.  


“That _is_ funny, Ronnette. It’s not like the boss is around to tell him what to do on his lunch break.”  


“-If you can call that a lunch,” said the last of the trio, who was slightly paler in complexion than the other two.  


Seymour shook his head. These girls were just as poor as he was but they always enjoyed teasing him. “Well girls, sometimes you gotta make tough choices if you want to-”  


“-to make an honest living!” they chimed in unison before he could finish his sentence.  


Seymour almost felt embarrassed to hear a mantra he’d learned from his boss/caretaker thrown back at him, but with his life full of failures it was one of the only ideals he still held onto. If these girls weren’t clairvoyants then they certainly weren’t helping it with their apparent mind-reading. Deciding to leave it be, he began his walk again. He wouldn’t let his boss down, no matter what the teenagers had to say about it.  


“Man Ronnette, he really is turning into old man Mushnik.” Three sets of shoes quietly clicked against the pavement behind. Great. They were following him.  


“Mm-hm, a real cheapskate, Chiffon. How’s he gonna take Audrey on a date with only enough money to buy her a bag of chips?”  


Wait. What were they talking about?  


“-To _share?”_ Crystal snickered.  


He raised a hand to his face and chuckled into it, partially to hide the warmth he could feel flushing over his face. “Girls, you’ve got it all wrong. Audrey’s just my friend.”  


“Uh-huh, sure. Everyone’s got a friend that makes them trip over flower pots.”  


“-And make special flower arrangements for once a week.”  


“-And write love poems in his diary.”  


Seymour stopped and turned to face them, doing his best to stand up straight and tall. “It’s not a diary! It’s a botany journal!”  


The trio paused before bursting into laughter.  


Seymour stood unmoving with a scowl on his face as the trio enjoyed the fruits of their little jab, then after a while he turned around and began his walk back once more. “Well girls, I really do have to get back to work before Mister Mushnik yells at me for givin’ him a bad day.”  


“H-y-yeah,” Chiffon croaked, still catching her breath from their laughing fit, “-cuz he never does that on a good day, either.”  


“Wait Seymour, don’t leave just yet,” Ronnette called, her tone sounding genuine for the first time that day. “We’ve got somethin’ important to tell you.”  


“-It’s a secret!” Crystal added.  


Seymour continued his walk without looking back and reached the last block before his workplace. “Go ahead, tell me a secret. I don’t care!” he called. “I just wanna get back to work.”  


Loud footsteps suddenly clattered on the pavement just to his right, behind an old busted phone booth. “-You’ll care when you hear what it is.”  


Seymour’s breath caught in his throat. Chiffon was now standing right next to him, with her companions just behind her. He had no idea how they’d caught up to him so quickly, but that was just the kind of stuff that frightened him about the girls in the first place. The way they just appeared out of nowhere didn’t make any sense.  


“Uh-um-okay… just get the secret over with.”  


Chiffon turned to Ronnette, who broke from formation to approach Seymour by herself. Then she leaned in close to his ear and whispered, “Audrey likes you, too.”  
For a moment Seymour was silent. These girls’ disregard for the laws of physics aside, what Ronnette had said truly made him question his reality. Sweet and good and beautiful Audrey holding feelings toward a geek like him? This had to be a prank.  


“Girls, if this is some kind of joke, then...”  


“Seymour,” Crystal interjected, “we ain’t jokin.”  


“She really does like you,” Chiffon added with a nod.  


“A-Lot,” Ronnette said, emphasizing both syllables.  


Seymour’s eyes drifted toward the brickwork walls outside of his workplace as he pictured his lovely coworker just inside. Audrey _did_ know these girls, better than he knew them at least. Maybe she’d said something to them outside of work or maybe they’d pestered her into some kind of confession, like the one they were trying to get out of him right now. His gaze shifted down to the pavement then, as he remembered all the times he’d thought of telling her how he felt but couldn’t for a multitude of reasons. Mr. Mushnik would undoubtedly disapprove of his employees dating, but that was much easier to overcome than his own insecurities, including his fear of losing her as his best friend.  


“Seymour?” Crystal was snapping her fingers. How long had he been standing there without saying anything?  


He let out a big exhale. “Okay, so if I did, hypothetically, _like_ Audrey, as more than just a friend, I mean-” Chiffon nodded along as he slowly spoke, giving her friends a smirk as he dodged telling them the obvious. “-well, what exactly am I supposed to do? She’s got her boyfriend, and I’m… me.”  


“Can’t just say how ya feel, huh?” Ronnette asked.  


“Looks like the boy’s too shy,” Crystal added, as though Seymour was no longer a part of the conversation but rather an object of their commentary.  


“-Then he just won’t say any words,” said Chiffon.  


Ronnette gave her friend a quizzical look. “-And how exactly is he gonna do that?”  


“-I’ve got an idea!” Crystal chirped, motioning for her friends to come closer so that she could whisper her plan.  


Seymour might have tried to listen in, but he remembered that Mr. Mushnik still was waiting on him to return to the store. He ignored the giggles and glances in his direction as he waved goodbye. “Girls, it’s been a nice talk, but I really need to get back to work.”  


“See you soon, Seymour,” Chiffon replied with an overly cheerful tone, then put an arm around each of her friends, causing them both to make a little squeal in mock surprise. “C’mon, girls. We gotta create-”  


_“-the mood!”_ And with another unanimous laugh, the trio departed.  


Seymour didn’t bother to watch them walk, or rather vanish, away. He had to get back to work. He had to try getting back to some kind of normalcy in his routine, because at that moment his heart was beating far too fast to be healthy. A glimmer of hope had appeared in his dull, lonely life and it was hard to ignore. Had he missed some kind of sign from Audrey, or was she holding back for another reason? He knew she was the kind of girl that dreamed of old fashioned courtships and weddings. Maybe she wanted “her man” to make the first move. Maybe she was just waiting for things to fizzle out with her financially successful boyfriend before she’d find someone new...  


Or maybe he was just letting a few teenagers get him flustered. Who was he kidding? A girl like Audrey had so many other options. Even if her current relationship didn’t work out, he had nothing to offer her. He pushed the increasing pain and pressure in his chest aside and settled into his tried and true mindset when he got lost in thoughts like this: he should have been grateful to just have someone like her see him as a friend.  


The shop was just next door. He could do this. Audrey would be inside and they’d work together for a few more hours, and he could just ignore the entire bizarre lunch break he’d had. He gripped the empty bag of chips and stared down at the same old cracks in the pavement to keep his mind off her and onto Mrs. Shiva’s latest funeral arrangement. It was just awaiting a couple of white roses that hadn’t been delivered yet but should have been in already and then it would be done. Then he could afford to get a real meal and maybe a new plant for his collection. Yes, he could do this. He could go back into the shop without even looking at Audrey. He closed his eyes and smiled as he stepped through the door. Why had he been thinking about her anyway?  


Somehow he tripped over either the threshold of the shop’s doorway or a shoelace, but however it happened, Seymour fell. He braced himself for the cold linoleum but instead felt warm skin and linen as Audrey tried to prop him up. Mr. Mushnik yelled out his last name as he tried not to enjoy just being in her arms too much. Though his eyes were still closed, he could smell her perfume (sweet gardenia), feel a few strands of her hair against his face, and hear her slightly heavy breathing.  
He opened his eyes and found that his head was nestled right between her neck and shoulder. That left him in the precarious position of either looking up to see her pretty face or looking down to see her… Oh yeah. That’s why he’d been thinking about her.  


“S-so sorry, Audrey!” he yelped, blushing redder than a rose as he frantically stood up and adjusted himself.  


“God, you’re a walking work hazard, Krelborn,” Mr. Mushnik grumbled as he brushed past his employees to the door. “At least you got back here quick enough.”  


Seymour followed his boss out, desperate for distraction from what had been a very uncomfortable lunch break. “Anything in particular you want me to work on, sir?”  


Mr. Mushnik didn’t even bother to turn around. “Sweep something. Fix a plant. I don’t care. Just try not to waste my time for one day, Krelborn.” He paused and finally looked over his shoulder with a stern expression. “-And don’t let me catch you two chit-chatting when I come back.”  


Seymour nearly laughed at the idea of trying to talk to Audrey with her voice being shot, but stopped himself when he felt a light tapping on his shoulder. He turned around to find Audrey holding out a rolled up piece of wrapping paper in one hand and a pen in the other. He took the supplies and read a note she’d scrawled out on the wrapping paper:  


_“The roses were delivered. The delivery guy messed up and brought them to the back alley again. Gonna work on Shivas arrangement if you need me.  
_

_PS -Mr. Mushnik is being mean again. I think you need to eat more. You’re falling more than usual today.  
_

_PPS -Writing notes is fun!”_  


Relieved, he chuckled. Only Audrey could pass off his clumsiness as anything more than pathetic, and it was one of the things he loved about her (he could at least admit it to himself). He figured that if his boss wasn’t about to give him a proper lunch break that he would just as well entertain himself by passing a note back to her. Something stupid and flower-related. Just as he was midway through writing an admittedly terrible flower pun, he heard a voice from outside.  


It was a female voice… No, it was two female voices. No. _Three_ female voices, humming outside the shop’s window.  


He gulped as memories of his earlier conversation with the doo-wop trio flooded his head. They’d promised to see him soon and that they’d help him say how he felt, but he had no idea what that meant. He wondered if he should try to chase them away without cause when he heard them start to sing, loud and clearly.  


_“There you see her  
Sitting there across the way.  
She don’t got a lot to say,  
But there’s so much about her…”_  


The hair on the back of his neck stood up, and his skin started to feel clammy. He didn’t want to look at his coworker, but he had to just to know if she could hear the “romantic serenade” that was starting outside.  


Across the shop floor Audrey was busy working on Mrs. Shiva’s funeral arrangement, only glancing up from her spot when Seymour had stared at her too long to give him a curious look. He made an over-zealous shrug, and she returned to her work with one of those lovely grins that pushed up the dark circles under her eyes. He wondered if those circles had always been there or if they were just more noticeable in this light.  


Well, if Audrey was going to work, then so would he. These girls had to be kidding anyway if they thought this would–  


_“And you don’t know why,  
But you’re dyin’ to try  
You wanna kiss the girl!”_  


He choked on his own breath. Back turned to his coworker, he frantically scanned the store front for a broom.  


_“Yes, you want her  
Look at her, you know ya do!”_  


Beyond this being completely inappropriate workplace behavior, he knew that this song was more of the girls’ mind reading at work. He’d spent so many days imagining leaning in from behind the counter and planting a kiss on Audrey’s lips while they’d worked on arrangements together or just joked around about their pathetic lives. Of course he held back from anything like that. She’d never want him to.  


_“Possible she wants you too  
There is one way to ask her…”_  


Seymour grabbed a broom and began to vigorously sweep the floor. It was both a great channel for his frustration and an excuse to go outside again to stop this horrible musical number from taking place. He gathered up what could barely be called a dust bunny and made for the door as the trio sang on.  


_“It don’t take a word,  
Not a single word,  
Go on and kiss the girl!”_  


CLANG! The dustpan hit the brick of the building as he emptied it with fury and scanned the sidewalk for the unwanted glee club. The “glorious” sounds of Skid Row returned when he spotted the girls, the glittering blue sequins on their dresses providing little camouflage among the dinge.  


Ronnette parted from her friends and put a hand on her hip. “What are you lookin’ at?”  


Seymour frankly felt like screaming at them, but between wondering if he had somehow imagined their entire musical number and not wanting to distract Audrey from actually getting work done, he held it back. He half whispered, “get outta here before my boss comes back” while balling his hands into fists. The trio simply stared back at him and didn’t budge. He ran his fingers through his hair then and mouthed out all kinds of impolite words that he didn’t want anyone to hear as he made his way back inside.  


Maybe Audrey had a point about getting some food. At the very least he was irritable, but at the worst he was imagining entire musical numbers thanks to his hunger. He had just made it back indoors when he remembered that the girls hadn’t been wearing matching blue sequin dresses when he saw them before but rather their everyday street clothes.  


_“Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la, my oh my  
Looks like the boy’s too shy  
Ain’t gonna kiss the girl...”_  


Seymour didn’t want to look back at his coworker in case she could hear the song too, but he had to. His bravery was met with the sight of Audrey simply unrolling a long piece of ribbon and cutting strips to make a few small bows, completely focused on her task at hand. It should have ended at that, but something was different about the way she looked in that moment, and he found himself staring at her again.  


Actually, the whole store looked different. The display flowers… had they always been so colorful and alive? When had the lighting become so soft and romantic? Did the shop always have a heady aroma of sweet spring annuals that made him feel so relaxed and alive at the same time, as he looked at the object of his desires and affection?  


Then he remembered that Audrey always wore some kind of perfume. That was the reason for the smell -he’d even noticed it during his earlier slip up! The lights were just dimming from their faulty wiring, and he surely was still hungry and just hallucinating that the shop’s plants were more alive in his spacey state. Nothing unusual was going on as long as he gave himself a logical explanation for every oddity.  


Real or not, he heard the girls begin to sing again outside.  


_“Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la, ain’t that sad?  
Ain’t it a shame? Too bad  
He gonna miss the girl.”_  


Miss her? What did they mean that he’d ‘miss her?’ He saw Audrey every day, and if this song was actually some kind of mental construct of his own making then he’d have no reason to think otherwise. He glanced back in Audrey’s direction as she continued rolling ribbon out from the spool. After tying a couple of (perfect) bows with ease, she winced and gently held her right wrist in her left hand. It was a subtle thing that he likely never would have thought about if this damn song hadn’t gotten him second-guessing his sanity.  


Then he saw it: a ring of grey bruises along her wrist, adorning it like a bracelet.  


Little moments that he hadn’t put much thought into came flooding back to him. Mr. Mushnik was always mad that Audrey was almost never on time for work anymore. There were dark circles under her eyes he hadn’t seen until recently. He knew that her boyfriend was very possessive and that she never wanted to make him angry, but was there more to it than that? She’d told Seymour long ago about the kind of life she wanted -a life she deserved. Even if this guy wasn’t actually hurting her, he wasn’t the kind of person who would look forward to the Better Homes and Gardens life. If her boyfriend decided that he wanted to take Audrey away to... wherever “dental professionals” like him lived, or had a motorcycle accident with her onboard, or something else dangerous, Seymour knew he would probably never see her again.  


He’d miss her, all right.  


He had no idea how he was going to pull it off, but he decided that somehow he had to tell her about his feelings. Though he could feel his stomach flip-flopping and those damn doubts were practically screaming in his head, he knew that anything he had to lose in telling her would never be as painful as losing her for good. Besides, Audrey had always encouraged him to be a stronger, better man. It was what she would want him to do.  


As if on queue, the girls’ song started up again. Seymour hardly cared if it was all in his head or not anymore as he slowly walked up to his coworker, who was putting away the arrangement behind the counter.  


_“Now’s your moment  
With the flowers all in bloom  
Boy, you better do it soon,  
No time would be better.  
She don’t say a word and she won’t say a word  
Until you kiss the-”_  


Seymour could feel himself falling before he understood how it happened; when his shoe had caught on the strand of ribbon that had been left trailing from the spool as Audrey worked. Most of what he saw was a blur of the flowers, ribbon, and the old shop walls, but her shocked face as she turned around to see him stood out from it all. He closed his eyes and braced himself to hit the floor. There wouldn’t be a slip up like last time. His hand gripped the counter instead and his feet readjusted in time for him to stagger but not fall. The sigh of relief he let out was cut short as he felt her breath against his mouth. That could only mean-  


He opened his eyes and, sure enough, found himself face to face with Audrey. They were so close; his old fantasies came running back to him without him even thinking about it.  


Before the girls’ song could push him to indulge such ideas though, he jumped away from her and she followed suit, putting a hand over her mouth in surprise.  


“Audrey, no! I’m so sorry. I–”  


Audrey raised her hand in front of her, signalling for him to stop talking. He nodded, and watched as she unrolled a long piece of wrapping paper across the counter into a makeshift scroll. Then she fumbled around their boss’ desk until she found a pen that refused to work. Realizing he still had the first pen she gave him, Seymour reached into his pocket and gave it to her.  


She took it with a sigh and started to write, briefly looking back up at him with a nervous sort of smile and color in her cheeks, and thankfully not the purple color he’d seen on her wrist. Finally, she dotted her last ‘i’ and moved aside so that he could read her message:  


_“Seymour, I really am worried about you today. I can give you some money if youre out to get a real lunch. If you fall over again when you come back, maybe try to fall near someone who isnt sick? I might be contagious.”_  


Seymour was in disbelief. Even after two of his screw ups in a row that he was sure would seem like creepy moves on her Audrey was still more concerned for his well being than her own. “I don’t care if I get sick, Audrey.”  


She didn’t bother to write a message out this time. Anyone could have read the two words on her lips. _“I do!”_  


“Audrey, I just… I wanted to tell you something. It’s worth the risk.”  


She cocked her head slightly to the side and leaned against the counter. The girls were right. No time would be better.  


“Audrey, um… are those bruises on your arm?”  


She gasped and hid her hands behind her back, her face most definitely red as she looked at the floor.  


Seymour felt like he could hit himself in the face. “No, no! That wasn’t supposed to come out that way. What I meant to say is, uh, I… I’m worried about you.” Audrey didn’t move or look up. Seymour wondered if this time her silence was out of embarrassment or anger, but he wouldn’t let it stand either way. “Is someone hurting you?”  


She nodded, her anguished expression betraying her.  


“Look, Audrey, I won’t ask what’s going on, but if you ever need someone to protect you, I’m here.”  


She sighed again and picked up the pen, resting one hand on her bruised arm so that her injury wasn’t so obvious this time. When she finished writing she looked up at him, and Seymour could tell that she was holding back tears.  


Her new note read, _“Its my boyfriend. He likes to do stuff to me that hurts sometimes. Mr. Mushnik knows but we didnt want to tell you.”_  


An ember of rage burned inside Seymour at the thought of anyone hurting her intentionally, but he managed to suppress it. He had to be calm for her. “Audrey, if-if it’s not too personal to ask, do you like it when he hurts you?”  


She shook her head once more, vehemently.  


“-But you don’t want to make him upset by breaking up with him?”  


She nodded and wrote, _“and I cant pay the rent by myself”_  


“I could help! I don’t have much left after Mister Mushnik takes his cut, but it should be worth something. Hell, I’d work two jobs if it would help you out. And, I-I know that I don’t look very strong, but I can keep ya safe.” Overly confident words were pouring out of the florist, and for once he didn’t mind one bit. “Me and Mister Mushnik can keep the guy off your back at work, and if he tries to do anything to you off-duty, I’m just across the street. Please, Audrey. Let me help you. I’ll do anything to prove it to you.”  


“Anything?” she mouthed, and a look appeared in her eye that Seymour couldn’t describe if he tried but it made him feel… funny.  


“Anything, Audrey.”  


She moved quickly and tore a small piece of the wrapping paper with a loud _rrrip_ that broke the silence between them. Propping up against the wall, she began to write another note. Seymour glanced at the doorway to give his coworker some privacy and spotted the three urchins just outside. He was just about to shoo them off when Audrey tapped his shoulder with her note.  


The message was short, and it was clear that Audrey had gone over the words a couple of times to give it her own sort of bold look: _“Kiss Me”_  
For a while, Seymour didn’t move, and simply re-read her note over and over again. Doubts were floating in the back of his mind again. In fact he was fairly certain he’d hit his head harder than he’d thought and he’d wake up in the middle of lunch break where everything still made sense. Slowly he turned his head to look his coworker in the face again. An unsure but sincere smile was on her lips as he tried to find something to say.  


“What?” Not the most eloquent response, but it was all he had.  


The color reappeared in Audrey’s cheeks, and this time it didn’t fade away. Before he could comment about it, she returned to furious scribbling on the wrapping paper. The words came out messy and she struck through phrases multiple times, as if she were revising a diary entry, but he could make out a few phrases:  


_“Im sorry; Its just a stupid crush; Please dont hate me, Seymour; I just want to stay your friend…”_  


He placed a hand on her shoulder and she stopped writing. She trembled slightly beneath his touch and Seymour imagined that he could make her stop if he just believed hard enough. But belief in himself wouldn’t be enough this time. He needed to say something, because he knew that he’d never get an opportunity to talk to her like this again.  


“Audrey, I just… gosh, I don’t know what to say.” He tried to swallow a lump in his throat and managed to at least finish his thought. “I’ve wanted this, to kiss you, for so long. I just didn’t think you’d ever like me back.”  


Her smile came back, wider than he could ever remember seeing it, and his heart turned into a balloon that rose to the top of his chest. Then she practically leaped to pull him into a hug. He allowed himself to hold her tighter than he’d ever done before and let out a laugh of sheer joy while she almost sunk into his embrace. After several moments of just holding each other, Audrey finally lifted her head up. That twinkle in her eyes came back before she closed them, and this time Seymour knew what it meant. Hesitation briefly reared its ugly head, only for the girls to start singing again.  


_“Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la, boy come on!  
Listen to the song. The song says  
Kiss the girl  
Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la, music play  
Do what the music say  
You’ve gotta kiss the girl.  
Kiss the girl...”_  


Soft. So soft he wasn’t sure if Audrey was there when he leaned in until he felt her breath against his lips again. His heart began to hammer as he backed out of his timid attempt at a kiss. He could hear her raspy giggle before opening his eyes again to find her still in his arms, her smile serene and definitely not a figment of his food-deprived imagination. She brought up a soft hand to stroke his cheek, then leaned gently into his ear.  


“Guess ya’ not worried about gettin’ sick now.” The words came out quiet as a whisper, but they were clear.  


He chuckled, elated. “Guess not, but while I’m takin’ a risk…”  


This time he was determined to actually kiss her the way he’d always dreamed of doing. Closing his eyes, he tilted his head just slightly and leaned in, feeling how her palm cupped his face before their lips met again, and again, and again. And with every heavenly pucker that proved to be so much better than his fantasies, Seymour heard triumphant music, and never cared once if it was really playing or not.  


Caught in their embrace, neither Seymour or Audrey noticed when their boss returned from his lunch break. The sight of his employees sharing a passionate kiss left him stupefied in the doorway. Sure, he’d known that they harbored affections for each other, but he never thought either of them would actually show it, especially not Seymour.  


One of the urchins cleared her throat, and Mr. Mushnik turned around to look where they stood just in front of the shop’s main window. He gestured to his misfit employees inside with an emphatic shrug.  


The trio all shook their heads in response, though Mushnik might have caught Crystal laughing to herself, or Chiffon and Ronnette sharing a high five if he hadn’t gone back inside his shop. Before the girls could truly celebrate their job well done, a louder-than-usual yell of _“Krelborn!”_ echoed from inside the little shop.  


Crystal placed her knuckles against her mouth in a grimace. “Should we help?”  


“Nah,” Chiffon answered, “they can handle ol’ man Mushnik on their own. Save the energy for Audrey’s chump boyfriend if he shows his face around here.”  


“-Her ex-boyfriend,” Ronnette corrected with a wink before walking past the shop’s door back toward the alley they’d appeared from.  


“So, omnipotent Greek choir saves the day?” Crystal asked, twirling around so that her sequins left little highlights all over the ghetto sidewalk.  


“-You bet,” said Chiffon. “Just imagine if we’d let Seymour try to get to Audrey on his own.”  


Ronnette smiled before looking up to the sky. Through the layer of clouds and pollution, the sun almost appeared to be eclipsed, just a sliver of its soft light glowing above her head. “Yeah, he might’ve done somethin’ real stupid.” 

**The End**

**Author's Note:**

> Quick ending note that should be common sense, but please don't be like Seymour and risk getting sick right now. COVID-19 is no fun and you could lose a lot more than your voice if you catch it.


End file.
